Sarwar Ahmed : For Asian millionaires, Britain is still booming

From a speech in London by the publisher of 'Asian Xpress' to launch its rich list

Most of the millionaires on our list don't appear to read papers, watch TV or even listen to the radio. How else can I explain that, whilst the media is full of gloom about the economy, Asian entrepreneurs don't seem to have noticed. In fact, they continue to believe that Britain is booming. Far from disappearing when the internet bubble burst, and far from losing their nerve after 11 September, the 300 millionaires on our list insist it's business as usual.

The Asian Xpress rich list was created to satisfy our readers' fascination with cash and commerce, and to inspire Asian youngsters to pursue their own rags-to-riches dream. But the list also serves to chart the progress of a community that has overcome the odds to thrive in Britain, and a community that has given so much back to society through investment and the creation of jobs.

The diverse nature of Asian businesses demonstrates just how far Asians have assimilated into society. Whilst Asian grocers created our open-all-hours society, and whilst our curry-house owners continue to feed the nation, the new breed of Asian entrepreneurs is more likely to seek its fortune from less traditional industries.

Famous brands such as Joe Bloggs jeans, Time Computers and the New Look fashion stores are all Asian-owned – but proud to be British companies. And just to show that Asian talent is not restricted to business, this year's list features the film producer Gurinder Chadha, the actor Ben Kingsley, the author Salman Rushdie and the multi-talented Meera Syal.

Notable by their absence are the Hinduja brothers who have become less and less part of the UK's Asian community. Another high-profile omission is Reuben Singh. The dynamic young entrepreneur is worth millions if you believe everything you read, but an exhaustive search by Philip Beresford, the compiler of the list, has failed to put any facts behind the figures.

On a more positive note, this year's list contains more than 70 new entries, and so many Asian millionaires have been created over the past 12 months that our list has grown from its original size of 100 to today's mammoth index of 300.

We should also remember that 20 years ago, many of the people on our list would have been poor immigrants, and written off in the way that asylum-seekers are today.